No. 22Middle Ages
Romanesque illuminationGuda
Unknown – Unknown · Germany
Painted herself inside a letter — and signed it.
All artistsRomanesque illumination
Romanesque illuminationSelf-portrait in an initial (Guda Homiliary), c. 1150–1200. Guda. Photo: Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main. Public Domain Mark 1.0 · Source: Frankfurt University Library
Illumination · Scribing
Guda
Unknown – Unknown · Germany
A scribe and illuminator who copied and decorated a book of sermons in the Middle Rhine region in the second half of the 1100s. Inside one of its big initials she painted herself holding a scroll with her name, often called one of the earliest signed self-portraits by a woman in Europe.
Know more on Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)Fact file
- Born
- Unknown
- Died
- Unknown
- Country
- Germany
- Era
- Middle Ages
- Style
- Romanesque illumination
- Disciplines
- Illumination, Scribing
- Key work
- Self-portrait in an initial (Guda Homiliary) (c. 1150–1200)
- Medium
- Ink and pigments on parchment
- Where to see it
- Frankfurt University Library, Germany
Curiosity!
DocumentedHer scroll reads “Guda peccatrix mulier scripsit et pinxit hunc librum” — “Guda, a sinful woman, wrote and painted this book.”
What we know (and what we don’t)
- Documented
The book is the Guda Homiliary (Frankfurt University Library, Ms. Barth. 42); her self-portrait is on page 110v.
- Not certain
Nothing else is known about her life. She is often called a nun because of her clothing, but no record confirms it.
- Not certain
The exact convent or town where she worked is unknown; the library places the book in the Middle Rhine region.
Where to see her
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